Kill Switch: A Joe Ledger Novel

The first half of the book was awkwardly written. There was too much jumping between past, present and future among so many different characters that it was sluggish to read through. I understand that there were a ton of details that the writer felt he needed to portray in order to complete the last half of the book, but, after a while, it just felt redundant. It is definitely a very different writing style than any of the previous books.

Have read all the Ledger stories , enjoyed them very much til now.
Confusing story with far too many new and old characters thrown in for no apparent reason other than filler. Ledger does little for a majority of the book except to show signs of illness.
After the first 3-4 books in the series I had very high expectations, but the author has slowly gotten more cerebral and less into action.
I would not suggest this one to anyone.

St. Martin's Press and NetGalley provided me with an electronic copy of Kill Switch, in exchange for an honest review.

Kill Switch is the 8th book in the Joe Ledger series and neither the author nor the main character show any signs of slowing down. When terrorists acquire a weapon that can plunge America into darkness, they hatch a sinister plan to leave America in chaos, in the dark, and fighting a plague without access to the very people who could help them. When the coordinated attack includes crippling the intelligence services and turning ordinary people into killers, will Joe be able to help save himself and others before it is too late?

Author Jonathan Maberry gives Joe Ledger a strong voice and it comes through clearly in Kill Switch. With a unique concept and a fast paced thriller format, this book definitely reads like it could be a blockbuster movie. Strangely enough, I did not feel lost while reading Kill Switch, even though I am new to the Joe Ledger series. This book has definitely piqued my interest and I am intrigued enough to want to go back and read the previous novels. For a relatively long book, Kill Switch certainly moves along at a breakneck pace. As this is a fusion between the thriller, science fiction, and horror genres, it will appeal to a wide audience. As I feel that some of the major parts of Joe Ledger's character have already been written, I would recommend reading this book after reading the others in the series.

Some people wait for Christmas. After I discovered, then binged on on everything in the Ledger Universe, I wait for Joe. Turns out a year is around 54 weeks long.

This series is everything everyone says it is... Intelligent, funny, horrifying, and all-too-damned-real. But as much as I cheer and laugh until I cry and shriek in the battle scenes? This series is all brain for me.

There are men and women who protect us from nasty stuff. There are your first responders. Your cannon fodder. Your beat cops. They see stuff, but so do we. There are levels... But at lines we can't possibly imagine, there are men and women who fight the unknown... And the known. I grew up surrounded by special forces. People who had to face evil and then get the job done. From the first words, these books have been about Echo Team and the DMS retaining JUST enough humanity to stay the good guys.

This book took so very much from me... Much in the way of mental delusions of security. Much of what Maberry writes about already exists. He weaves it in a bit of a nice Hocus pocus web, but this stuff is all coming. While it did return, I went to listen to this book again after I listen to Dogs of War. I couldn't get past the prologue without an actual anxiety attack. I'd like a refresher on the book, but I can't...

Jonathan Maberry is one of those authors you really can’t go wrong with and he knocks it out of the park again in Kill Switch. Even if he writes the most outlandish ideas you just go with it and quickly become enthralled because his writing is just that good.
Whenever I see a new Joe Ledger book I wonder where he’s going to take it because each one is just so crazy and over the top I think he can’t take it up another notch. Yet somehow he always manages to. I am glad that this one wasn’t quite as disturbingly gory as Predator One but you will still find a lot of the expected stuff blowing up and bad guys getting torn up. I didn’t want to stop reading this book but the main reason it didn’t get the full five stars was the buy guy was pretty obvious from the get-go for me. So I found it a little frustrating that Joe and his team didn’t figure it out sooner. Granted we’re seeing the overall picture but Joe’s team is only seeing bits and pieces but I still thought they should have picked up on it sooner than they did. Other than that the story was great. I am curious to see where the Echo Team goes in the next book. The team goes through a lot of soul breaking stuff and we already see there are going to be changes coming. I can’t wait to see how it shakes out.

Kill Switch is strange even for Joe Ledger who has faced off against zombies, vampires, and chimera creatures. Joe Ledger and Echo Team has wandered into H.P. Lovecraft territory with strange ancient cities in Antarctica complete with hostile albino penguins and strange machines. Over the course of the story, the DMS keeps finding themselves farther behind the 8-ball and getting smashed. Betrayal by trusted figures happens again and nobody seems to be themselves. Not a bad quick thrill ride with the villain obvious if you remember past Ledger tales. Nice save by Harry Bolt though!

The latest Joe Ledger novel: Kill Switch, has something for nearly everyone.

This particular novel covers several different genres all at once – Lovecraft, Techno-thriller, and science fiction. It could be argued it is also a horror novel, but that is covered by Jonathan Maberry’s tip of the hat to the late, great H.P. Lovecraft.

The Department of Military Sciences has had its share of deadly encounters over the years, and the survivors have the physical and emotional scars to prove it. Not a single member of the team has walked away unscathed and recently their once top-notch work in handling all manner of terrorist, criminal and worse seems to have taken a turn for the worst.

Missions are failing, inexplicably failing. Team leaders are not only dropping the ball, but in some cases have turned on their own, for reasons even they cannot explain.

POTUS - or President of the United States, has never been a fan of the DMS and would love to find any excuse possible to either shut the DMS down, or have its leader, Mr. Church, ousted and someone who is more to his liking in charge.

When a mission to the Antarctic goes horribly awry, it is the last straw for POTUS. He wants Captain Ledger brought up on charges and puts a former super-spy Harcort Bolton in charge of the DMS.

This mission has far reaching ramifications, not just for Joe and the members of the DMS, but the entire world. Technology to breach the dimensional barriers has been unleashed, and several side effects, including the ability to turn off power to all electronic devices without harming them, is but one.

A far more dangerous and life-altering side effect was also discovered, and this leaves severe psychological scars on members of the DMS.

This novel also explains why Joe Ledger has appeared in so many of Mr. Maberry’s other works.

Blood flows, lives are lost, lives are irrevocably changed forever. Despite this, there is humor present, which helps offset how heart-wrenching the novel was at times.

Exactly as one would have expected from Mr. Maberry.

If you’re a fan of Lovecraft, read the book. If you’re a fan of Joe Ledger, this is a must-read. If you’re not familiar with Captain Ledger and this is your first foray into the series, get ready for one hell of a ride!

And Ray Porter, the narrator for the audio version of this series, brings the characters to life with his performance. It is not just narration, it IS a performance and he has never failed to entertain me with any of his work.

Loved it. Joe Ledger and his crew literally go thru hell on this one. Doom and gloom galore. Possibly the end of the Joe Ledger series? I hope not. But they all survive every threat then the stories become meaningless. Someone has to pay the price to keep us safe from all the monsters and evil people. Goes without saying this book is filled with action. I heard it from others, this series is like "24" & "X-Files" combined!

Come on Joe....surely you can save the world one MORE time (or two/three)?

Another great Joe Ledger Novel. In this one the DMS is more beat back than ever and under attack like never before. If you’ve read the other books in the series this one follows a similar pattern. There is tons of action, some witty comments and amazing concepts. I guessed who the bad guy was pretty early but it didn’t take away from my enjoyment of the story. It’s well written and tons of fun. If you’re looking for a nonstop action thriller pick this up!

Maberry's Joe Ledger series is habit forming. He has a brilliant knack at taking an urban legend and spinning a credible yarn around it that will keep you reading into the wee hours of the morning. Kill Switch is one of my favorites from this series.
This is an author that gets it. Great stories aren't about spy craft and technology. They are always about people.

This epic thriller kept me on the edge with psychological, emotional, and physical terrors and a sweeping plot that reached across boundaries and griped me by the throat. No one is safe in KILL SWITCH, least of all Joe Ledger. Excellent audiobook narration by Ray Porter

Joe Ledger meets MHI Universe. Jonathan Maberry and Larry Correia are my favorite action fiction writers.

The Others, Ancient Ones, Aliens, other dimensions, etc Good to see the progress away from typical ass-kicking Joe Ledger.
I hope to see an Unified series with MHI-Joe Ledger similar to how Agent Pendergast series is written.

Fast-paced action and adventure thriller with Lovecraftian horror and science fiction woven seamlessly into the story. Usually with thrillers I get a little bored around page 300 (did we really need that last action scene?) but Kill Switch kept me engaged and fascinated for all 544 pages – and left me wanting more.

Might be the best since Code Zero, correction, it IS the best since Code Zero. I was literally waiting for months for the release date and this one did not disappoint. The horror content was right up my alley; seamlessly blended with the DMS action stuff. Lots of twists; a top-notch effort by Mayberry.

Another great Joe Ledger adventure. When are they going to make a movie about this guy? Maberry knows how to find the most frightening nightmare scenario and make it all too real. Poor Joe! I was really worried about him this time!!

Maberry's latest Joe Ledger novel is full of fun, action, and thrill. I think Maberry may be the best premise writer there is. The story is ambitious and has extraordinary stakes. The author is a genius storyteller who wastes no time to explore escalating tension and drama. I'm a big fan of the author and can't wait to go back and read the earlier books in the series!

I love Maberry. Have read everything by him. Follow him on social media. LOVE the Ledger character. I still was dissapointed by this novel. Its a by the numbers Ledger book. No new ground. Spoilers!!!!! For the third time...a member of the team is a bad guy. Ledger gets knocked out at least twice. This guy loses consciousness at least twice a novel..everytime. He should be a vegetable by now. Its cause blackouts are a device Maberry uses to transition chapters. Its overused. So are the tears. Can you imagine if the male star of your movie cried more than once during the movie? Its used as a Chapter transition when blackouts aren't available. At the end of the novel one of the team is suicidal. Its stated that he goes into counceling...then the next chapter he's in Hawaii partying. No....he would be not hanging with the team that he had traumatic experience with. A shrink would not say this is okay. This book seemed rushed. Not as well thought out as previous. I liked the inclusion of some of Maberry's other novel series characters. It bought this review additional star.

Mayberry's DMS/Ledger novels never fail to entertain. Ledger is my kind of hero...smart, smart assed, honorable, ruthless and more than a little dysfunctional. The stakes keep getting upped in the Ledger series and this one pulls out all the stops. Not sure where the author goes from here, but it's an awesome and wild ride. Enough praise...Mayberry, get back to work and crank out more of these!!